Special Delivery
by Michele-bell
Summary: After graduating college, Axel finds that writing isn't going to pay the bills. So Axel finds a lame job. Along the way, he somehow finds himself in some sort of crazy love triangle…with his best friend and some asshole. AkuRoku/RenoAxel/ARR for Nijuuni
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Here is a story dedicated fully and with lots of love to **Nijuuni** on deviantART, who is a fantastically talented artist and writer, because she deserves it and so much more from me. I really, really adore you and appreciate all you've done for me! I hope you know how much.

This is something I've been working on since the end of May/finished in June. It started out as a drabble that quickly got eaten up by plot bunnies and pooped out as this long-ass thing. I _wanted_ to wait to post this until it was all done, but I got a block for part two so I thought if I posted this and got some positive feedback, it might help the second half along. I hope those who read enjoy, though the rest will unfortunately **not** be posted for month - until Nijuuni gets back from vacation and gives it the stamp of approval.

For those of you not aware of the crossover pairing of ARR (AxelRoxasReno), you might be thinking "WHAT". I know where you're coming from. I used to be the same way. But...RENO/AXEL IS SEXYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

Many thanks to my beta and my Axel, **uruwashii uso** for providing inspiration, reading this, fixing the mistakes and reassuring me about it!

**Warning: **Um, oh man. A stupid job, crossdressing, gropage, lots of perverted gayness, erections and curse words. Those should be standard warnings from me by now.

**Standard disclaimers too.**

* * *

**~Special Delivery~**

* * *

To say that Axel was going through a stressful time in his life was an understatement. His desk was sort of a symbol of that.

Papers were askew and crumpled, surrounding the man and barely allowing an inch of his desk to show. Photographs of friends were pushed together due to lack of room, overlapping each other – except for one that Axel always kept up front. Pens and pencils were shoved together in a cup, practically spilling out of it. Cups were stacked, beer bottles empty. The only light was that of Axel's laptop screen, illuminating his tired face, casting shadows about the room. What was on the screen hadn't changed for about ten minutes.

Axel was contemplating cleaning and organizing everything when there was a sudden sound from across the room. He flicked on his desk lamp and spun around in his chair to see that his hamster had flipped over his food dish, as he often did when he was frustrated…and hungry.

"I know, Mickey, I know," Axel sighed and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm hungry too. I'll get more food tomorrow. And hopefully one day I'll be so rich you'll be _rolling _in Ansem's Assorted Hamster Food."

To his dismay, the fuzzy rodent only continued to glare at him.

Just as Axel got up to give his poor pet what was left in the package of pet food, his cell phone started buzzing for the third time that night. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Axel reluctantly picked it up off his desk. He glanced at the caller ID and rolled his eyes, choosing to answer this time.

"He-"

"_SEVEN DAAAAAAAAAAYSSSSSS" _the voice on the other end hissed.

"Hi Demyx."

"_Awww man, how'd you know it was me?"_ the other man whined and Axel could just picture the pout on his face.

"Intuition," he replied simply. "Plus, I haven't seen 'The Ring' in years so Samara would be a little late to kill me wouldn't she? And you can't pull off her creepy voice anyways."

There was a pause. _"Shuddup. What are you doing?"_

"Writing," Axel lied, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.

"_Ahhh, so that's why you were ignoring my calls."_

"Yuuuup, and I'd like to ignore this one too, if you don't mind."

"_Noooo, first you have to guess what I'm dooooooing,"_ Demyx breathed into the phone playfully and Axel could hear background noise and pulsing music.

"Getting drunk?" the redhead guessed immediately.

"_Oh my god!" _Demyx exclaimed, sounding taken off guard. _"Dude you are so not at home writing are you? You're totally somewhere in the club…" _his words got quieter and he trailed off, as if he was distracted by something. Most likely scanning the area of whatever club he was in for Axel, the man figured. _"How'd you know these things? You're totally spying on me."_

"Aw, Dem, nope, as much as I love to stalk you, I'm at home." Axel stated, glancing at the time. Eleven p.m. Why was he so tired already?

"_Alright. Well, you were right. I'm getting there," _the man said, not sounding totally convinced that Axel wasn't in his general vicinity. _"But yeah, that's why I called, you should come out with me and-"_

"I can't," Axel said right away, expecting it and yawning. "I don't have the money to go out and blow it all right now, I need to save it for like… food and bills, you know?"

"… _You can eat free peanuts at the bar. That's food."_

"Oh yes, covered in remnants of urine from everyone sticking their hands in the dish. Yum."

Demyx sighed, sending static between the cell phones. _"Seriously man, just come out tonight. Give yourself a break. Everyone misses you."_

"You know I'd like to, but I _really_ can't," Axel insisted, beginning to pace around his room.

"_What'll it take to convince you?"_

"Gee, how should I phrase this… nothing can?"

"_What if I pay for your drinks?"_

"Sorry, I try to avoid driving home drunk."

"_What if I pay for a cab to pick you up and bring you home?"_

"Man, then I'd feel like I owed you."

"_What if I invited Roxas?"_

"Then…" Axel's prepared response died in his throat and he paused, feeling his adrenaline rush at the name. "No."

"_Ahaaa!" _Demyx cried triumphantly. _"I knew that would get you! I'm so inviting Roxas!"_

"No you are not," Axel growled and glanced at the center picture on his desk. It was his favorite one of Roxas and himself, the short blond was on Axel's shoulders, hands tangled in the man's hair. Axel wished that he could feel the boy's fingers running through his hair right now; it would have no doubt relaxed him.

"_It'll get you to come! When's the last time you saw him anyway?"_ Demyx asked pleasantly, not aware of the expression on Axel's face at all.

"Uh… not since my graduation party…"Axel sighed.

"_What?" _Demyx cried in disbelief. _"No way! We graduated five months ago man!"_

"Ugh, don't remind me," Axel groaned, sinking back down into his desk chair. "I'm going to have to start paying off my college loans in a month…"

Demyx chose to ignore this and continued to pester Axel with questions. _"Why haven't you seen him? Are you still talking to him? What happened?"_

Axel bit his lip and scratched the back of his head, swiveling himself back and forth in his chair nervously. "You _know_ what happened. And yeah, we've talked a little. Online and stuff."

"_What the hell, you sissy!" _Demyx scolded. _"Hiding behind the computer screen. I can't believe you. You two are best friends!"_

"Yeah, I _know_," the redhead said, getting frustrated. It was a touchy subject and he really didn't want to talk about it. "We're just having a bit of a falling out, I guess."

"_I can't believe this!" _Demyx practically squeaked. _"Alright, so yeah, you two got drunk and made out on the couch but–"_

Axel cleared his throat. "Uh… we did a little more than make out on the couch, Dem…"

"_Yeah and it was hot. You two put on a show for everyone." _The glee in the man's voice made Axel groan in embarrassment, cradling his head in his hand. _"But seriously, I thought you too were finally going to get together! And here the opposite happens; you're not even friends anymore?"_

"We _are_ friends!" Axel said defensively. "That's why I haven't done anything about it… I don't want to fuck up what we already have."

"_Pssssssh. You're already fucking it up then. You think it'll solve things by just chickening out and not talking to him?"_

"Well, clearly it messed us up already, since Roxas isn't really putting in any effort either…" the redhead admitted sadly. "It was just a mistake, Dem. We'll forget about it soon and it'll be normal, but right now we're avoiding each other. He's busy with school anyway."

"_Maybe he's just as scared as you! You two are _meant_ for each other!"_

"Says you," Axel snorted, but couldn't help but glance at the picture of the two of them again. "Roxas isn't into guys–"

"_Dude, he's the one who jumped on you and shoved his tongue into your mouth-"_

"He was _drunk_, Dem, and so was I."

"_You could be drunk right now if you would stop being so lame and just come out here and I'll invite Roxas and then you can take that couch-heavy-petting session to the next level, if you know what I mean."_

"Demyx, I'm hanging up."

"_No, no, no, wait! Okay, I'll be serious! Really, two best buddies don't just make out at a party for the hell of it – that's what girls do," _the redhead's friend explained quickly._ "There's got to be something behind it, it's got to be mutual. Plus you two weren't even _that_ drunk, since you both remember it. It's always been so obvious that you two were totally gay for each other."_

Axel rubbed his forehead, not sure of what to say. "… Look. I'd like to believe that," he confessed. "I really would. I do… like Roxas. I like him so much… Always have…"

"_He's always been your faaaaaaaavoriiiiite!" _Demyx sung into the phone.

"Yeah," the redhead sighed. "But… I just don't want to talk about this right now, okay? I don't need more shit to deal with."

"…_Alright,"_ Demyx gave in, but he sounded disappointed. _"So living on a degree in creative writing isn't going so well, huh?"_

Mickey started flipping his food dish over and over again so Axel shot up from his seat and strode over to his neglected hamster. "Well yeah, I don't have a job on campus anymore and it's just hard to get known, you know? I'm trying to find a side job."

"_Man, that sucks," _Demyx sympathized. _"Ohhh, you know what? They're hiring at my work!"_

"Really?" Axel asked with moderate interest, raising his eyebrows. He tucked his phone between his ear and shoulder as he opened Mickey's cage, still trying to shake off the feeling of being reminded of Roxas. "Uh, where do you – Ah!"The man yelped and leapt back when his angry little pet tried to bite him. "Wh-where do you work again?"

"_Post Office!" _Demyx said proudly. _"They're hiring mailmen; I could _so_ get you a job by recommending you."_

"Oh, right…" Axel said as he cautiously reached into the cage and grabbed the food bowl. "Sounds like loads of fun. Does it pay well?"

"_Yup, you start out at 11.50 an hour and work your way up from there."_

"Hmm…" The redhead furrowed his brow and contemplated the option. He really did need money. Getting a job on the side of writing was pretty much inevitable at this point and that was a good amount of pay. "I guess that would work. A job's a job right?"

"_Sure, but you've got to be brave! I could never do it. I don't want dogs chasing me almost everyday."_

"You make it sound so appealing…" Axel laughed as he poured food into Mickey's bowl. "But I think I can handle it."

"_Good!"_ Demyx said enthusiastically. _"You just have to promise me one thing."_

"Mm?" Axel switched his phone to his other shoulder so he could give Mickey his food dish back. "What?"

"_If I get you the job, we're gonna have another party, and I'm gonna invite Roxas," _he blabbered._ "When you see him you have to give him the most romantic kiss ever in front of everyone and confess your love, otherwise I'll tell the office that you're a creepy pedo who just wants to molest children in the neighborhoods."_

"Goodbye, Demyx."

"_Wait, I'm kid-"_

Axel flipped his phone shut and shook his head in amusement. So, a job at the post office. How glamorous – but this wasn't the time to be picky. There's no possible way it could be bad, he figured, since it'd be a pretty independent job. Whatever. Axel decided that he'd go for it. Unfortunately, as he was thinking he didn't realize that his hand was still in the cage, so Mickey took the moment to strike, biting down hard on his index finger.

"Ow!" Axel cried, jumping back and landing on his ass on his bed. Mickey hopped up with his front feet on the opening of the cage to look at him, nose twitching triumphantly. The redhead stood up and brushed himself off, sticking his bleeding finger into his mouth to suck on it. Grumbling, he walked over and snapped the hamster's cage shut, only for the mischievous rodent to flip over his food bowl again, spilling its contents all over.

"Oh my _god_," Axel groaned, holding his arms out to the side in defeat. "What do you want from me? I'm _getting_ a job, okay?"

* * *

Luckily only a couple weeks later, Axel found out that he was hired. On his first day, he woke up early. He wanted to start the day fresh; it wouldn't look good to be late on his first official day after training. Not only that, but making a stop by his favorite coffee shop seemed like a pretty awesome idea. _Nothing_ started out the day right like a double latte from 7th Heaven, especially when he would soon have the money to start coming there regularly again.

A pleasant jingle of bells alerted the woman behind the counter of his presence when Axel opened the door, and he instantly smiled at her. Perfect, his favorite lady was working today.

"Good morning, Tifa," he greeted smoothly, striding up to the counter.

"Morning, Axel," she returned with her own smile. She tossed the towel that she was cleaning with away in order to give him her full attention. "The usual?" she asked, leaning forward onto the counter so that her dark brown hair spilled over her shoulders.

"Of course." He made sure to let her notice his eyes roam her body, noticing her skirt was a bit tighter today and her shirt was perhaps a size too small, hugging her features and revealing a bit of her midriff. She turned to go prepare his drink and his expression changed to more of a patronizing smirk behind her back. He had told her that he would be coming in that day… What a bold move for such an apparently shy girl; though Axel still couldn't figure out why she always played it so coy when she had a body like that.

Keeping his eyes glued on her, he noticed her pull the lever and make his usual double latte into a triple. Axel quickly averted his gaze when she moved over to the whipped cream, pretending that he didn't see. It seemed that Tifa was laying out the subtle flirting a little thick today.

"Here you are," she said once she was done, sliding the latte to him. Axel made sure to brush his fingers with hers as he took it. "So," she glanced down at his hand, lips curving into a flirtatious smile. "First day on a new job huh?"

"Yeah," Axel nodded. "So I can't stay long unfortunately. It'll probably be really boring too, trust me, I'd rather stay here." He took a sip from his latte and licked his lips. "Damn, did you make me a triple?"

The brunette shook her head modestly. "I could have given you a job here, you know."

Grinning, Axel reached into his back pocket for his wallet. "Oh you wouldn't want to do that, Tifa. I'd be too busy staring at you the whole time to work."

Tifa waved a hand as a gesture for him to put away his wallet, playfully ignoring his compliment. "Don't worry about the drink today, it's on me."

Axel flashed her his most genuine grin, lifted her manicured hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Really, when are you going to leave Cloud and marry me?"

As she pulled her hand away, the woman smiled and looked almost as if she was about to laugh. "Get out of here before you're late. And don't let this job get in the way of your writing."

Replacing his wallet, Axel stepped away from the counter. "Oh I won't, if that's what you want. You're going to be the star of my next novel after all."

The redhead left her with a wink and headed out. A free triple latte by simply flirting a little heavier than normal with the barista. Not a bad way to start the day at all.

All Axel had to do was show up at the nearby post office and clock in since he had already traveled his set route during training. He hopped into the mail car and made his way to the parking lot of apartment buildings along his route. Since he was new he didn't get the liberty of a neighborhood route with mail boxes, so he was stuck delivering on foot.

Axel began dropping off people's bundles of mail, enjoying the crisp fall weather and trying not to think of how much this would suck in the winter. The Twilight apartment complex was his first stop. For the apartments he actually had to go inside the building and to drop off mail at each door, even deliver small packages. It was a heavy load on his shoulder, but Axel was happy that it would at least be getting smaller. Going along, most everyone's post was boring, bills and junk mail. After apartment eleven he pulled out the mail for the next place, number thirteen and glanced through – and he finally saw something interesting.

Bill, bill, bill, gay porn magazine, bill, gay porn magazine, gay porn magazine, bill for ordering porn on TV.

…Well. Axel expected to deliver some Playboy – but shiny magazines slapped with erotic images of men on men, especially more than one? Not so much. He paused outside of the door, a bit of a blush already forming on his cheeks just from looking at the cover of each one. Curiously, he opened one and was greeted with a page full of unique ways to make use of sex toys and his mouth dropped open.

"_Nice_," he muttered under his breath in approval, setting his bag of mail down so he could view it more freely. After flipping through a few more pages he grew increasingly flustered and impressed with what he saw… What kind of people lived here, anyway?

It seemed that he was about to find out, because before Axel could get a hold of himself, the door to the apartment opened.

"Hey there, can I help you?"

Axel jumped, quickly glancing up and taking in the sight of a man just about his height leaning against the door frame. A very _attractive_ man. What wasn't tied back of his red hair fell into his face, but Axel could still make out the curved tattoos under his eyes…and the sharp smirk on his features.

"Uh," Axel said. He may have been good with the ladies…but not with men like this.

The other redhead's grin widened and he glanced down at what was in Axel's hands. "Are you lookin' at my mail?" he asked a bit incredulously, tone mostly amused.

"Uh, no!" Axel said automatically, closing the magazine and realizing he must have looked like a total pervert. He thrust his hand forward to offer the mail to the man, who he assumed was named 'Reno' considering that was the name on each bill and magazine. "I'm delivering it… I'm your mailman."

"You're my _mailman_? What happened to the old ugly one?"

"Um… I dunno…" Axel muttered, distracted when Reno took a step towards him, blue eyes never leaving green as he reached forward and took the pile from the postman, subtly brushing their hands together. Axel felt his heart rate pick up its pace and he swallowed hard at the jolt it gave him. It was totally different from when he touched Tifa's hand. _Shit._ Forget being embarrassed about being caught ogling at this guy's mail, the fact that the man was already having such an effect on him was shameful.

The other redhead finally broke eye contact to flip through what was given to him, tossing the regular bills behind him into the apartment with a snort. "Finally this shit came, yo," he mumbled as he stopped at the magazines, Axel assuming he was talking to no one in particular.

"Okay…" Axel said with a nervous smile and slowly began to back away. "Well, I have more things to deliver, so… have a good day."

Reno's head snapped up and he gave Axel a quick once-over. "Wait a second," he said smoothly, giving a crooked grin. "Is this what you were lookin' at?" Without hesitation he held up one of the magazines sideways, letting the centerfold unravel to expose two naked men tangled in some kind of position that Axel didn't even think was possible. And Axel felt his face go hot.

"I-I wasn't looking through your mail," he stammered, backing himself into the wall opposite of the door to number thirteen, avoiding looking at the picture. Reno only followed him.

"…Do you want to?" he asked with a snicker, trying to make eye contact again as he closed the distance between them. "You seem interested… and I've got time, yo."

What the hell? This guy didn't even know his name and he was… hitting on Axel? He – he wanted to look at _porn_ with him? The redhead couldn't press himself against the wall any further, realized he was trapped and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. His voice was a little weak when he spoke, but he tried to remain unfazed. "…I'd love to," he said sarcastically, giving a smirk of his own. "But I have a job to do."

"That's too bad," Reno said and placed his hands on the wall on either side of Axel's head, leaning close. "That means I'll have to look at them all alone, and that's just no fun."

"Well – I'm sorry?" Axel offered, practically bending himself over backward since the other redhead was invading his personal bubble. Reno didn't respond at first, instead lifted a hand and curled it around the back of Axel's head, pulling him back so they were level again. The mailman gasped, half in pain and half in surprise.

"You _should_ be sorry." Reno trailed his hand down Axel's upper body, fingers pressing so firm it almost felt like there was no barrier of clothing between them at all. Axel could feel the other's breath fanning against his lips, warm and inviting. "You _do_ know what you did is illegal, right?"

Axel gulped and thought, _raping someone is also illegal…_

Reno watched his Adam's apple bob up and down with a smirk and didn't wait for more of a response. "Looking through someone's mail is an… invasion of privacy," he breathed, suddenly palming Axel's half-hard cock through his pants. The helpless redhead's breath hitched and he unconsciously grabbed the front of Reno's shirt, glancing down in between their bodies. The other man grinned and squeezed firmly, eliciting a soft moan. "It's pretty rude, don't you think?"

"Y-yeah…" Axel barely managed to choke out, biting his lip.

As quickly as it had happened, Reno let go and stepped back, leaving Axel to stumble forward. "Glad you agree, yo," he said with a wicked grin, heading back into his apartment. "Good we got that cleared up on your first day. What's your name anyway?"

Heart still pounding and cock still straining against his pants, Axel could only stare at him incredulously. Only after Reno raised an eyebrow did he answer weakly, "…Axel."

"Axel?" The man seemed a little surprised at the name, but before Axel could really catch onto it the darker haired redhead cleared his throat and continued. "Weird name, but your looks make up for it," he drawled, lazily leaning back on the doorframe, magazine rolled up in one hand. "I'm Reno. Welcome to the neighborhood, yo." After one last, prolonged once-over, Reno turned and closed the door. Axel was left to stand there, dumbstruck, until he found his way back to his mail car to take care of the problem in his pants that the man had caused.

* * *

-

Axel figured that the incident was just a one time thing; that Reno was just getting back at him for being a pervert. Unfortunately for the redhead, he discovered that nothing was really a "one time thing" for the other – and since he delivered the mail at the same time every day save for Sundays, the sometimes not-so-subtle torture continued for the rest of the week. It wasn't just _dogs_ that Axel had to worry about chasing after him.

As the days progressed, the other redhead found more and more ways to tease him. Axel learned to try to get by apartment thirteen as _fast as possible_. He would dash by, drop the mail off, and continue on his way in record time in order to avoid Reno. The only problem was, most of the time the guy seemed to be _waiting_ for him. Just as Axel would be retreating down the hallway, Reno would fling open his door and call out to him. One day, just as Axel was slipping their mail through his door, he felt a hand firmly grope his rear-end. He abruptly stood and spun around to see Reno, grinning like some kind of predatory animal, armed with the excuse that it was the quickest method of getting his ass out of the way. The day when Reno came out in nothing but a towel, dripping wet from just getting out of the shower, was particularly bad.

It made one wonder if Reno was just plain bored. Maybe he was getting back at Axel still for looking at his porno mag, but after a week it hardly seemed like a grudge anymore. Axel just didn't know if the teasing was simply for amusement or if Reno actually was interested in him. Either way, Axel didn't want to get fired, so there was nothing he could do.

So the day when Axel had to deliver a _package_ to his door, therefore having to face Reno willingly, he was particularly distraught.

He stood outside of the apartment door in dread, futilely stalling for time by just staring at it. Finally, after taking a deep breath, Axel accepted that he had to just get things done and over with, and he knocked.

After a few moments the door opened, Axel tense and gaze focused straight ahead to where he expected to see Reno's head appear – that way he could just shove the package at him, tell him to sign for it and bolt without giving the other a chance to molest him. But the door opened all the way and Axel didn't see Reno. He saw no one. Just empty space. No one tried to touch him, and there was no suggestive pick-up line. Before Axel even had a chance to figure out what was going on, a voice spoke, sounding as confused as he was.

"…Axel? What are you doing here?"

The redhead's breath caught in his throat at the familiar voice and he immediately looked down to see familiar blond hair, familiar blue eyes, a face he hadn't seen for a while but could never forget. Axel staggered back a bit.

"_Roxas_?"

…Not what he expected at all.

The two gaped at each other, dumbfounded, before the short blond broke the silence. "Uh…hi."

"Hey," Axel said, unable to keep the questioning tone out of his voice. He gave the boy a once-over and glanced frantically at the number of the apartment outside of the door just to make sure that this was actually happening. There was no denying that this wide-eyed boy was indeed the Roxas he knew, and that the number _was_ number thirteen.

What was _Roxas _doing in Reno's apartment – the apartment of the guy who'd been sexually harassing him for the past _week_?

The air was awkward between them and Axel became aware that his hands were shaking slightly. He remembered the last time he had seen Roxas. The morning after his graduation he had woken up shirtless and hung-over, with the blond laying on top of him. They had quickly gotten off of each other and Roxas had muttered some excuse about how he had to be somewhere, and that was that. The blond seemed to remember this too, judging by the way he quickly averted his gaze and shifted uncomfortably.

"Wow, I… Long time no see."

"Y-yeah," Axel said, a nervous but genuine smile gracing his features. "How are you? Jeez, sorry I haven't been able to keep in touch, I've been busy."

"Busy being a mailman huh?" Roxas asked almost judgmentally, looking at the package in his hands and bag on his shoulder.

"Uh, well kind of," Axel said, definitely feeling the sting of Roxas' bitterness. "I had to get a job in order to pay off the college loans until I start to get more well-known with my writing. Funny that we randomly meet up like this again, huh?" He swallowed thickly, not being able to help but blurt out the question that was tormenting him in the back of his mind, even though he was afraid of the answer. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Roxas looked back up at him again, nervous and almost guilty seeming. The look alone pretty much answered Axel's question for him and he felt like he was going to be sick.

"I live here," he said quietly.

"…Oh?" Axel desperately tried to keep his voice steady, impartial, but he was almost positive the disappointment and hurt showed on his face. "With… Reno?"

"Yeah… You've met him?" Roxas asked hesitantly.

Resisting to say '_yeah, and his hand has met various places on my body'_, Axel instead played it innocent. "I have…" He nodded slowly, pursing his lips to prevent himself from blurting anything out. "…So when did that happen?"

"It was kind of last minute, really," Roxas told him, running a hand through his hair. "I needed a place to stay near campus and so I ended up just moving in with him…"

A spark of hope came upon Axel. "Oh so you're roommates?"

The boy gave a nervous laugh. "No… we're dating."

"…Oh."

Even though he suspected it, the news still hit him hard. Axel was flooded with so many emotions at once, he didn't know what to think. Apparently Roxas had now accepted that he liked men and was open to dating them. Axel did the math quickly in his head, school had been in session again for about a month and a half, so Roxas had met this guy, dated him, and moved in with him in about four months? It was ridiculous. Axel was angry at himself for losing his chance, he was jealous of Reno; disgusted at the other for feeling him up when he was dating someone that deserved better. He was bitter at Roxas for not taking any initiative either and stunned by the irony of it all. _Great_, the man that Axel wanted to get into bed was already in bed with the boy he thought that he was in love with.

But Axel forced a smile anyway. "Wow, that's great for you, Rox… Why didn't you tell me?"

A look of guilt crossed Roxas' face again and he let out an exasperated sigh. "Because… you… look, I'm sorry–"

Axel cut him off before he could make the situation even more awkward. "It's okay. Never mind. I'm happy for you," he lied in the friendliest of manners, dropping his mailbag because the added weight to his shoulders was too much. "It's my own fault for not keeping up with you – for not knowing I mean. We, uh, we should fix that."

"Yeah," Roxas snorted and punched his arm. Axel actually grinned, almost in thanks, since the action was just like old times. "Figures you'd forget all about me as soon as you graduate."

"Ow," Axel laughed, rubbing the spot on his arm. "You have my apologies. So we should hang out soon?"

"Yeah," the boy agreed, smiling comfortably as well. "Whenever I'm not in school and you're not working I guess." Glancing down at the package in Axel's hands, he asked, "Is that for us?"

Axel grimaced at the 'us' and said, "It's for Reno. Is he here?" _Please say no…_

Eyes still on the box in Axel's hands, Roxas frowned. "No, for once I'm home on a Saturday and he's not… Can I take it?"

The redhead handed over the package with relief, hoping for a chance to touch Roxas but didn't get one. So instead he admired the puzzled look on the boy's face.

"I wonder what this could be…" Roxas murmured, tilting the box in his hands. "Reno didn't tell me that he was ordering anything…"

The memory of Reno's porn magazines returned to Axel's mind and he wondered if the guy had told Roxas that he was ordering _those_. Then Axel realized that Roxas was dating a horny pervert, and he felt even more upset, if possible. Still, he was curious as to what the box could be. It might be something that would upset Roxas and thus make him realize he should be with the man right in front of him. "You should open it," he suggested indifferently.

Roxas raised a mischievous eyebrow. "You think so?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Axel gave his own smirk, happy to hide his negative feelings for the moment.

After a pause, the boy asked him, "Do you have a break anytime soon? You should come in."

"I do, though I'm not supposed to take it for a few more hours…" Axel admitted. There was no way he was going to walk away from Roxas so soon, though. "But that's alright, I can take my fifteen minutes now."

"You sure?" Roxas questioned politely, but it was obvious that he didn't want Axel to go because he opened the door a little wider.

"I'm sure," the redhead said firmly and entered the apartment when Roxas stepped aside. The blond headed over into the little kitchen area and deposited the box onto the table, then went to grab some scissors. While he was opening it, Axel studied the apartment and was glad to see that it wasn't all that impressive. A matching couch and chair in the living room, a good sized TV along with a few gaming systems. Axel missed playing video games with Roxas. The bedroom door was closed – Axel didn't want to see it anyway – and the kitchen was pretty plain with scattered empty beer bottles throughout. It wouldn't be too hard to convince someone to leave this place…

However, Axel's attention was drawn away from surveying the apartment when out of the corner of his eye he saw Roxas pull out what was in the box, then quickly shove it back in.

"What is it?" he asked curiously and strode towards the boy, a hesitant smile forming on his lips. It was either a bad thing… or something Roxas didn't want Axel to see…

"Ugh, I can't believe this," Roxas grumbled, closing the package back up. He whirled around and shoved it at Axel. "Take it back."

"What?" Axel laughed incredulously, holding his hands up to refuse taking the box. So apparently it _was_ a bad thing. Finally, some good news. "I can't do that. Plus, it's not even yours, it's Reno's."

"Just take it back, Axel," the shorter man demanded, stepping forward again. "And don't look inside it either."

"Wait a sec, Rox," the redhead said. "I'm not doing _anything_ until I know what's in there."

The blond blinked at him in dismay and Axel caught the faintest blush begin to appear on his cheeks from embarrassment. _Damn. _"It's…" Roxas began, avoiding green eyes. "I lost a bet to Reno when we were playing poker a few weeks ago. The deal was, if I lost, I would have to wear something he bought for me…" Axel's eyebrows raised and his curiosity was peeked even more. Continuing with a disgruntled noise, Roxas said, "I accepted because I thought I'd win and… it wouldn't be that bad if he was _buying_ it, but… I… didn't expect this…"

"Well, what is it?" Axel pressed again, innocently, trying desperately to keep an amused grin from his face.

"Just… if you have to know, just look at it yourself…" Roxas sighed, turning away. Taking the package cautiously from him, Axel eagerly revealed its contents.

"Wow…" was all he said at first, picking up part of the attire in one hand and examining it. Surprised at the boldness and general sexiness of the outfit, he cleared his throat. "Jeez, Roxas, you should have known that if he was going to get you something, he was going to get you something _good_."

"Shut up," the blond said irritably. As Axel looked from the flustered blond to the clothing in his hands, a slow smirk spread across his face.

He had an idea of how to get back at Reno.

"I'll tell you what, Rox," Axel said nonchalantly, taking the rest of the outfit out of the box and walking up beside the younger man. "I'll take this off your hands and pretend I never delivered a package here–"

"–Seriously?" Roxas perked up and turned to face him. "Thanks so much–"

"_But_, you're going to have to show me what you look like in it first."

Luckily, Axel's grin didn't fade when Roxas' expression fell into a disbelieving glare. The idea was just _too_ good.

"You're kidding," the blond deadpanned.

"Nope!" Axel said enthusiastically. "Those are your options. Either wear it for Reno – for whatever purposes, throw it out and then face him when he finds out – since I'll tell him, or-" Roxas' scowl almost threw Axel off and he paused, but kept his composure. "-or you can show me for just a _minute _and then everyone can forget about the whole thing!"

"Axel…"

"What?" the addressed man asked, making sure to remain harmless sounding. "Remember when you made me wear a pink camisole for a whole day? Friends aren't friends unless they embarrass each other every once in a while." The blond didn't respond so Axel lowered his tone of voice and spoke slower. "I'm totally serious, Roxas."

Slowly taking the outfit back from him, Roxas studied Axel as if he was trying to see if his best friend had different intentions. The redhead kept his face remotely blank except for the small, reassuring smile on his mouth. His heart was pounding, and Roxas of all people probably knew that Axel didn't want to see it just for a laugh. Still, the boy muttered a '_fine_' and disappeared into the bathroom to change. Axel took a seat at the table to wait, knee jiggling impatiently.

There was a ruckus behind the door, the sounds of stumbling and cursing, and it made Axel wonder just what the hell was going _on_ in there. He began to think that Roxas might be trying to escape through a window until he heard the blond speak.

"…You want me to put on…everything?"

"Of course, Roxas. It's not even worth it if you don't," Axel replied languidly.

"Christ, Axel, I'm not going to do this!" Roxas shouted through the door.

"Yes you are!" Axel shouted back. "Unless you want Reno to see…"

"This is so _embarrassing!_"

"Oh alright, I'm sure you'd _love_ to prance around like a girl for your _boyfriend_, huh? Totally _less_ embarrassing."

The door to the bathroom swung open so abruptly that it hit the wall. Axel blinked hard and stared at the sight of Roxas leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and scowling at the ground.

Okay, so he didn't expect it to look _that_ hot.

Axel's eyes roamed over Roxas' subtle curves, his legs covered in red stockings which were attached by a thick ribbon on each leg to a small, red, see-through lace skirt. Matching panties were underneath – this was no doubt an outfit meant to seduce. The top was the same material as the little skirt, though Axel couldn't see much of it because Roxas' arms were blocking the way. Nonetheless, Axel swallowed nervously and almost regretted telling the blond to wear it because of how turned on it was already making him. The redhead had never seen Roxas looking hotter. After a moment the blond looked up hesitantly, feeling self-conscious under the man's gaze.

"Well?" he asked expectantly, though his tone of voice wasn't as strong as normal. "You've seen it, can I take it off now?"

"N-no…" Axel rasped and cleared his throat, remembering that he was supposed to laugh. He fake-snickered a bit, feigning absolute amusement. "No you've got to… come closer and let me see better, stop crossing your arms."

After a muttered curse word, Roxas huffed and made his way over closer to the table, not making eye contact again. This allowed Axel to stare more at the younger man's perfect stomach, how creamy and soft his skin looked and just in general how fuckable he was at the moment. Despite his lack of womanly features, Axel thought Roxas looked more stunning in this than even a woman like Tifa could. It was taking everything in Axel not to just throw him down on the table right then and there. He could picture Roxas riding him in this outfit, fucking himself on the man's cock to make himself come, panting and one strap of the top slipping off of his shoulder. Just one element to the fantasy was missing; Axel couldn't get a clear view of the top since Roxas was _still_ crossing his arms.

"It fits you perfectly," Axel told him in a teasing voice, trying his best to sound entertained and not aroused. "Just… stop standing there looking like you want to kill someone."

Roxas unfolded his arms finally and balled his fists, leaning forward and fixing Axel with a defiant stare. "I _do_ want to kill someone."

That was the Roxas he knew, and Axel couldn't help but grin since after several months of dating some dude and even in lingerie the boy hadn't changed a bit. "Well, kill Reno first, not me. Wasn't my idea," the redhead said defensively, taking in the fact that he could see the pink of Roxas' nipples through his top. "Though he _was_ able to pin your size just right… He also has excellent taste…" And Axel meant that in more ways than one.

"Yeah, okay, I get it…" Roxas grumbled, pulling at the skirt uncomfortably. "I'm glad I can pull off looking like a girl."

"You don't look like a girl…" Axel told him honestly. _You look better. You look beautiful._

Looking at Roxas dressed like that, Axel wished he could tell the blond what it did to him. Roxas was hard enough to resist in the first place, which was why Axel had been staying away until he had more of his life in order. This was the first time the redhead had ever seen him looking vulnerable, soft and delicate. It just made everything worse.

Finally Roxas looked at him again, bit his lip and their eyes met. Blue irises widened, recognizing the desire on his friend's face.

"I'm cold," Roxas said quickly. "I'm going to get out of this stupid thing."

"Uh, go ahead," Axel stammered, but Roxas was already bolting towards the bathroom door.

While he was in there Axel stared up the ceiling, trying his best to picture something else, to think of _anything_ else. Nothing seemed to work, since by the time Roxas came out with the lingerie in his hands, Axel was still undeniably hard.

"Here…" Roxas said awkwardly, holding the clothes out to Axel. The redhead took them, put them back in the box and inconspicuously held it at the level of his hips, covering his hard-on.

"Think I've been here a little longer than fifteen minutes," he said shakily, glancing towards the door. "I should go…" Roxas gave him an unreadable look, leaning forward just a bit.

"Alright," he said, sounding disappointed but Axel was sure it was his imagination. "Well I'm glad to see you again… and we're going to hang out… _normally_ soon, whether you want to or not."

"Y-yeah," Axel nodded frantically, walking awkwardly over to the door. "Definitely. I'll… see you soon, Rox."

Said boy opened the door for him and Axel scurried out, waving with a fake smile plastered on his face as they both said goodbye. Axel didn't even take a lunch thanks to how much time he spent in his mail car.

That wasn't exactly the type of reunion he had in mind.

* * *

-

* * *

It was days before Axel saw either of the residents of apartment thirteen again. Days of being tortured by fantasies of Roxas, ones worse than he had ever dared to even think of before. Fantasies of Reno also wormed their way into his mind, betraying his newfound disdain for the man. The redhead hated himself for still being attracted to him, but his heart and his libido often did disagree on things. The two men were so different from each other, but it didn't make Axel want them any less. He wanted them both, but he didn't want them to be _together_.

How ironic it was that taking a last minute job had led him to discover what was going on with his best friend and make his desire for him only grow stronger. What were the odds that his best friend's boyfriend would make him weak at the knees, plagued with lust and jealousy? The man infuriated him, impassioned him, excited him, drove him mad.

So after another day where neither of the objects of Axel's desires were to be seen, he almost considered it a good thing; the redhead had no idea what he would do if he saw Reno again. His route in the apartment complex was done, so he was at least able to relax a bit. Had he known better, he wouldn't have let his guard down.

As Axel was walking down the stairwell, wondering if he should text Roxas to see if he was home, out of nowhere he was slammed against the wall. There was no time to think as a hand firmly grabbed his wrist and forced it above his head, no time to make a move for the pepper spray in his back pocket. People didn't normally assault the _mailman,_ but Axel didn't even have to look at his attacker to know who it was, thanks to that alluring voice and unforgettable drawl.

"Look who I found, yo."

Reno.

Looked like Axel wasn't able to avoid him for long.

Even if Axel had been able to come up with some sort of plan for when he encountered Reno again it would have been no use. He was trapped, forced to share the same air with the man smirking at his surprised face. Reno leaned in close; pressing his weight against Axel's before the wide-eyed man even had a chance to respond. The smell of some kind of cologne hit Axel's senses, nearly rendering him speechless. His heart stopped beating for a moment and he was frozen in place, a mixture of emotions welling up inside him. This was the first time he'd seen the red-haired man since he found out about Roxas. And judging from the way Reno had so forcefully pinned him, Axel was almost certain that he must have found out about the whole outfit-for-Roxas incident.

"Christ, Reno!" Axel finally breathed, struggling to free his wrist, but the man only tightened his grip. "What do you want?"

"Thought I was makin' that pretty obvious…" Reno hummed, tilting his head to the side playfully. Cleverly releasing the arm that Axel could do nothing with since it was clutching his mailbag, he slipped his hand underneath the man's shirt.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Axel demanded acridly, seriously pissed off now that he knew Roxas was dating this guy who continued to hit on him every time their paths crossed.

Reno's smile faltered a little and his eyebrows disappeared underneath his hair. "You… You've met him?"

Axel snorted, squirming a bit. "Yeah. I've met him." Funny, Reno had the same reaction to that question as Roxas almost. And Roxas apparently hadn't told him that they were best friends…

"Cute, huh?" Reno put forward like it was normal to have a conversation on a stairwell with a hand underneath someone's shirt. He didn't even back off at all, Axel couldn't believe the nerve he had.

"Sure," Axel shrugged indifferently, trying to ignore the disloyal feelings from how his body was responding to the man. "I don't think he'd appreciate you feeling up the mailman though."

Blue eyes narrowed slightly and Reno replied with, "What he doesn't know won't hurt him, yo."

Axel wished that his hands were free so that he could punch the guy in the face and he thought, _Not if I tell him, 'yo'._

"That reminds me though," Reno said, completely unaware of Axel's anger and letting his fingers idly brush the man's abdomen. "Have you delivered any packages? I should have gotten one a few days ago."

Lips twitching into a small smirk, Axel's mood lightened a little. Finally he could get some pay-back. "_Package_? No, I don't remember having to leave you guys a package yet. Why?"

"Well I ordered something for Roxas to wear," the man with dark red hair explained with a snicker and Axel nodded slowly as if he didn't know. "And I'm preeeetty sure he won't be too happy with what it is. So I just want to make sure he doesn't get rid of it if I'm not there…"

"Oh I see," Axel said and skillfully hid his elation that Reno had no clue what happened. The image of Roxas in the actual outfit popped into his mind and it was _so_ hard not to smile triumphantly. "Well I'll _be sure_ let you know if I do, then…"

"Thanks," Reno said smoothly, eyeing him curiously because of the tone of voice that he used. Continuing his light caresses against the other's skin to get a reaction, he went on conversationally, "You know, for someone who lets me touch them whenever I want, you don't seem to like me very much, yo."

That was it. Axel couldn't hold up the act anymore. Reno was hitting on him and touching him _again_; he had Roxas all to himself and didn't even appreciate it. Setting the redhead with a challenging look and seeking to let out even a little of his frustration, Axel responded, "You don't really give me a choice, and I don't like shitheads who get in my way when I'm trying to fucking _work_."

"…Wow," Reno commented dryly, unfazed. "You have a dirty mouth, Axel. Wouldn't mind if you worked that on _me_." He dug his nails into the vulnerable man's flesh, grin widening at the sound he drew out. Any confident barrier that Axel had put up was shattered as he felt his face start to color from the unexpected reply and the heated air between them.

Despite everything and all of the negative feelings Axel had towards Reno, the postman couldn't deny that he was attracted to him. His skin seemed to burn after every little touch from the man and part of him couldn't really blame Roxas for going so fast with him. Reno just had this power about him, an irresistible aura of seduction, the way he smelled, moved and touched was enough to drive anyone crazy. Axel thought he might lose it any at moment. The man studied Axel's face and smirked, seeming to catch on entirely. He leaned in and connected his lips to the pinned man's neck, nibbling softly and leaving a trail with his tongue.

"F-fuck, what are you doing?" Axel practically whimpered, arching his neck without even realizing.

"Don't really know," Reno mumbled and continued to mark his throat. "Whatever feels good, yo."

"We're… in a stairwell…" Axel pointed out, releasing a shuddering breath. Part of him was screaming for giving into this man who was pretty much his rival, the other washed with pleasure at finally feeling of Reno's mouth for the first time after constant teasing.

"So let's go up to my apartment then," the man offered, sliding his hand up further to tease a nipple. The sensation was new to Axel and he let out a moan; betraying any hope he had of pretending he didn't like it. Getting out of this situation now would be a difficult task, seeing as the redhead was not only trapped, but heavily aroused as well. At the moment all his thoughts revolved around Reno, his smell and everything he was doing was completely intoxicating.

"But… I…" Axel tried in vain to come up with some sort of excuse or plea, but it was kind of hard when his whole body was ready to go. He only continued to stammer, until Reno drew back and sealed their mouths in a kiss to shut him up. Lips parted almost immediately, mouths and bodies pressed together roughly. It was a passionate kiss, but not romantic, more demanding, lustful and violent with a hidden hatred. Each was the perfect height for the other, allowing their hips to grind together and bring out satisfied groans. The two struggled for dominance but Reno clearly had the upper hand, already having Axel wedged between himself and the wall. Once they finally broke away to breathe, Reno grinned at him smugly.

"You were saying?"

"Fuck you," Axel gasped, wrenching his hand free in order to grab Reno by the hair and kiss him again. It didn't last long because the sound of someone coming down the stairwell met their ears and the two broke apart again, this time Reno kept his distance. As they waited for whoever it was to pass by, they straightened their hair and clothes, trying to look as casual as possible – _not_ like they were just making out.

"Reno, I've been looking – Axel?"

The pair of redheads spun around to see a confused Roxas at the top of the stairs, glancing back and forth between them.

_Roxas. _

_Oh, fuck. _

"Heeey, Roxas," Reno greeted, already beginning to walk up towards him. "Did you just get back?"

"Yeah…" the blond said, sounding distracted as he kept his puzzled gaze on Axel still.

"Uh, hi, Roxas…" Axel called up to him, scratching the back of his head and praying that there were no obvious hickeys on his neck. He felt sick. What had he just done? He almost wanted to throw himself down the stairs for allowing Reno to seduce him like that, when for days he'd been hating his guts.

Finally reaching the end of the stairs, Reno placed a hand on the small of Roxas' back and connected their lips together quickly. Roxas kissed back, but his eyes remained open and trained on Axel. The postman felt the inexplicable urge to light the whole place on fire. Those lips had just been kissing _him_ barely a minute ago, now they were claiming his best fucking friend.

"We were just having a quick chat, yo," Reno clarified simply, nodding at Axel. "You came back just in time. So let's go." Wrapping an arm around Roxas, the redhead tried to lead him away but the shorter man pushed him off.

"Hold on," Roxas said, tone of voice suspicious. "I wanna have a 'quick chat' with Axel."

Smile falling, Reno shifted his weight and looked like he was about to argue but decided against it. "A'right. See you in a few, then…" As he was leaving he smirked at Axel behind the blond's back and stuck out his tongue, giving a short wave of his hand. The redhead at the bottom of the stairs rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, waiting for Roxas to make his way down to his level.

"What were you guys talking about?" Roxas asked when he stopped a few steps above Axel, eyebrows drawn down almost as if in accusation.

Axel shook his head and laughed nervously, trying to shake the feelings of guilt and disloyalty from his shoulders. "Is that all you wanted to know? How about a 'hi, how are you, Axel?' or a 'great to see you again, best friend!'"

Roxas looked at him like he was crazy, voice flat. "Hi, how are you, Axel? What were you guys talking about?"

This only made Axel laugh again; he should have expected that from the blond. As he tried to think of something to say and calm his nerves, he decided to stall for time. "Why ask me and not him?"

"Because…" Roxas shrugged, looking annoyed. "It gives me an excuse to say hi."

Axel stared at him. Hadn't he just _made_ Roxas say hi? "You don't need an excuse, Rox…" he said, tone a little sad and incredulous.

Sighing, Roxas gave him an apologetic look. "Right. Sorry. You two just looked… weird when I found you, that's all…"

Running a shaky hand through his hair, Axel took a deep breath and put on a guiltless face. "Actually, he only wanted to know if I had delivered any packages lately…" He smirked at the somewhat fearful expression on Roxas' face. "Don't worry, I told him that I hadn't." It wasn't a lie, exactly. He was just leaving things out…

"Oh okay," Roxas said, finally relaxing his shoulders. "Thanks again for, you know. Getting rid of it."

"No problem," the taller man said, giving him a genuine smile. "What are friends for?" The blond cracked his own half-smile and Axel felt a stab of guilt again.

"Oh yeah!" the boy said quickly as if he just remembered something. "This Saturday night Reno's going out with some friends. Do you want to come over and hang out while he's gone?"

Taken aback, Axel felt his heart swell a little at the invitation. His smile turned into a wide smirk and he stepped closer to the blond, placing a hand on the railing. Their fingers were just inches away, he noticed. "Why does it matter if he's there or not?"

Roxas blinked cutely at him now that they were more level on the stairway and hesitated before saying, "It… doesn't matter. I just thought it'd be a good chance to hang out and catch up. If you'd _prefer_ he be there, then…"

"No, no," Axel insisted, waving a hand. Like hell he wanted Reno to be there, and thank god he never worked at night. "No, that sounds cool, I'm free."

"Good, come over around six." Roxas said, waved a goodbye and smiled at him as he headed back up the stairs, Axel watching him the whole way.

Once he was out of sight, the redhead cursed audibly and slumped against the wall, trying to make sense of all that just happened. He was such an _idiot_. How could he have given in to Reno so easily like that? And Roxas practically caught them! Damn Reno didn't even seem to care or show an ounce of shame when here Axel was, feeling like he had just cheated on Roxas and they had never even dated. And why had Roxas wanted to know what they were talking about? Did he suspect what they were doing? Or did he think that they were talking about him…?

Regardless of all the questions running through his head, one very prominent fact remained. Axel had an erection.

Sighing, he walked out of the building awkwardly and forlornly. For now it was back to his mail truck; figuring out questions would be saved for later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **So I've been putting off posting this for a while but it's time to just get it done and over with! I know it's been a long time since I posted the first part but I got really stuck on this second part and I kind of gave up on it :/ Luckily **Atomic-Clover **convinced me to just finish it for the sake of finishing it, even if I wasn't happy with it (she also gave me some advice on how to make it more sensible so thank youuuu dear!). So I plan on fixing this story up again in the future, but for now I'm done looking at it and over-thinking things. I'm pretty aware of what needs to be fixed but if you have any kind advice to offer feel free, though I hope you enjoy it anyhow xD

Again, for Nijuuni. IT WAS SUPER FUN TO INVADE YOUR HOUSE DAHAHA.

* * *

**Special Delivery**

**Part Two**

**

* * *

**

Sunday morning, where during any regular situation one's postman would have the day off, Axel could be found on the stairwell that he was so accustomed to climbing and descending almost every morning of the week. Only this time – he most certainly had a bigger purpose than money. He was here for love, to convince Roxas to move in with him. They'd spent years and years as friends; it was only fitting for them to be together now. Axel knew that, and he was no longer afraid to admit that he wanted it.

He drew himself up straight, giving himself a confident air in advance for what was to come. Determined, Axel pulled open the door to the hallway – only to crash into a person leaving from the other side. Not a good start to the morning – he dropped the package he was carrying and stumbled backwards, uttering a curse.

"Watch where you're going!" he hissed, straightening his clothes and about to pick up the box, until –

"I'm more the type to watch where I'm coming, actually."

The voice was instantly recognizable, and unfortunately so. _Oh. God. No. Not a good start to the morning at_ all.

Axel's mood plummeted to the floor, dragging his hope along with it. He quickly decided that there was no way he was going to bend over anytime soon. Instead, he wanted to burst, to throw a tantrum, to throw himself on the ground and fucking _cry_ when _Reno_ stepped towards him with that smirk that seemed to be permanently plastered on his goddamn good-looking face.

"Jeez, hello to you, too, Axel. What's with that face? What's wrong?" the other redhead asked with an almost sincere tone to his voice. The door swung shut, leaving the two parallel to each other in the hallway. Axel wanted to say '_you_ are wrong,' but found that he was in such a state of horrified shock, the words would not come out. As Reno's eyes took up their favorite pastime of perusing Axel's body, he apparently noticed the man was wearing casual clothes instead of his uniform. "Did you really miss me so much that you had to come here on your day off?"

"Miss you?" Axel asked flatly. "Why would I miss you? I hate you."

He made a move to continue on his way, but Reno cut off his path, saying, "We should fix that, then. You just caught me on my way out, what perfect timing."

It felt like all of Axel's nerves were on edge, prickling up from his toes to the ends of his hair. No, not perfect timing. Reno didn't figure into the plans he had for today, except for the idea of Roxas _leaving_ him. Reno didn't figure into his plans at all.

"I'm… I'm not here for _you_," Axel was finally able to rasp out.

"No?" In an instant, Reno closed the distance between them, getting way too close for comfort. "Shame, 'cause I've been thinking about that kiss…"

"And you want another one, I'm guessing?" Axel asked bitterly, this time not allowing his voice to reflect how flustered he felt. "Do you _ever_ stop thinking with your dick?"

"Hey, I can't really help it if I'm not one to be satisfied by a simple make out session." Reno lifted his hand and ran his fingers through the hairs on the back of Axel's neck. "But before we get going with anything like that, I'm wondering what you're doing here, if not for me?"

"None of your business," Axel told him, batting his hands away and quickly stepping off to the side. Every time he tried to step out of Reno's way, the other man would follow, making it appear they were doing some kind of awkward dance in the hallway. Unfortunately, Axel wasn't watching where he was placing his feet, in too much of a hurry to get out of Reno's groping-range. He ended up knocking the box with the side of his shoe, sending it scuffling along the floor. Reno stepped back and eyed the package, then looked up at a newly staggered Axel with a grin.

"What's this?" he prompted, making a move to retrieve it himself. Before he could, however, Axel swiped it up with speed he didn't even know he possessed.

"It's nothing, just something I forgot to deliver the other day."

He should have known that Reno wouldn't believe that for a second.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute." The man approached him again, trying to get a good look at the box in Axel's hands. "That wouldn't happen to be the package I've been waiting for is it?"

"I told you, I'm not here for you. It's _not_ for you," the other redhead insisted, feeling a flush burning on his cheeks and praying for some sort of way to escape this situation.

Reno cocked his head to the side, still wearing that condescending leer. "Who's it for then?"

"It's…it's for Roxas, okay?" Axel offered finally. "I slipped up, like I said. So really, it's no concern of yours, you can just…go."

"Oh, it's for _Roxas_," Reno said. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? He's right in the apartment, let's go." With that, he slung an arm around the man's shoulders and began to lead him down the hallway.

"Wh-what?" Axel stuttered, pushing his heels to the ground in an attempt to slow down their progress, since getting away seemed to be impossible. "But – you really don't need to."

"Nah, I'm only going to meet Rude. He's used to me being late. Besides, I'm sure he won't mind getting some private time staring at the barista at Seventh Heaven."

Axel was momentarily distracted at the mention of the coffee shop he so often frequented, but was quickly brought back to panic mode once that number came into view. Thirteen; that goddamn unlucky number. Certainly more trouble than it was worth. Reno was actually taking him into the apartment, where Roxas was waiting. Roxas, who was dating Reno. Roxas, who Axel had spent Saturday night with. There was _no_ way that this could end well.

* * *

To be honest, it didn't exactly start out well either.

When he was _first_ faced with the door to apartment number thirteen the previous day, Axel didn't have much of a clue of what he was doing. He didn't feel ready for it or prepared for it in any way. Not that hanging out with Roxas was some kind of big event, or that it was a… _date_ or anything, but there were a lot of things underlying the situation.

It was pretty freaking obvious that he had feelings for Roxas, ones stronger than just friendship. Pretty much every person who knew both Axel and Roxas knew that. Everyone except for Reno, who, while on the subject, was another issue. Axel wanted to tell Roxas what was going on, but he didn't know how or when he was going to do it. Telling him as soon as possible seemed to be the right thing to do. He would be a good friend while also making Reno look bad, which was all well and dandy. But if he told Roxas that he had kissed Reno _back_? There was a big problem.

How exactly was he going to tell Roxas?

_Oh by the way, your boyfriend is a slut?_

__

My compliments to your choice in boyfriend, Roxas, he's fantastic at pinning people against the wall?

_Hey Roxas, you should be with me, because I'm pretty sure I've been in love with you ever since I met you, and Reno is a douchebag. Though he is a really good kisser…?_

Axel took a deep breath, leaning against the wall outside of the door. No. He was over-thinking things as always. Although he was nervous and his head was reeling, it wasn't a problem. He and Roxas had a history. As far as he could tell, Roxas hadn't changed. So… he would choose Axel over Reno, right?

…Right?

Suddenly in his paranoia, Axel wasn't so sure. Because the fact was…Roxas had already chosen Reno over him.

Okay, no, he couldn't do this. He really couldn't do this. There was no way he could compete. Axel pushed himself off of the wall and started to retreat down the hallway quickly, heart feeling like it was constricting in his chest. Who was he kidding? He'd been freaking out ever since what happened on the stairwell, lost sleep over it, spent about two hours debating over what to wear, only to come to find that he couldn't face it. There was no way. No way in hell. He would have to tell Roxas that he got sick or something, and actually formulate a plan and figure this shit out –

"Axel? Where are you going?"

…Or not?

Axel spun around to see Roxas down the hallway with a mesh bag in one hand, along with that same inquiring look on his face as both other times they'd seen each other in that _damn_ apartment complex. Axel's frozen limbs fell slack, though he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the blond.

"H-hey… Hey, Rox."

"Hey…" the younger male echoed, taking up a slow walking pace in order to reach him. Cocking his head to the side to see beyond Axel, he asked, "Were you going somewhere?"

"Oh, um." Axel quickly looked down at himself, as if searching for some type of excuse. "I… I thought I forgot my wallet back in my car…" Awkwardly, he pulled it out of his back pocket. "False alarm, looks like I have it!"

Unfortunately, Roxas didn't seem convinced. "Uh huh," he mused, nodding his head as if humoring a small child. "Well, you're early; I was just coming back from doing my laundry…" He gestured to the bag in his hand; then made his way over to his apartment door to unlock it.

Getting the hint, Axel tried his best to ignore his hurt pride since Roxas had caught him basically chickening out and he strode up to the door too. Resisting the urge to say _'If you lived with me, I'd do your laundry for you and cook your dinner and do anything else for you'_ was quite hard.

"It's good to see you again, Rox," he said instead, tone of voice a little feeble.

The blond looked back up at him again with wide eyes. After a moment a small smile tugged at his lips and he said, "You too, Axel. Especially, you know, normal-looking and not in that stupid uniform."

At first Axel didn't know quite how to react to that, because his mind instantly went back to Roxas not-so-normal-looking in red lingerie. Somehow he forced the image out of his head, hoping that he hadn't made any sort of face that would have given him away and told himself to stay cool. "Uh, I guess that pale blue doesn't really bring out my eyes, huh?" he tried to ask casually. "I should suggest a change to the postal department. Blue has been a theme for far too long. Gotta add some spice to the industry."

Roxas gave a small laugh too before returning his attention to the door. The redhead didn't hesitate to follow him inside.

"Just hold on a second," Roxas told him, turning to him and gracing him with another smile. Axel's mood lifted even more and he felt his muscles relax a bit.

"Alright," the redhead said, shoving his hands into his pants pockets and trying to hide his discomfort in his surroundings. Roxas proceeded to toss the mesh bag of newly laundered clothes into the bedroom, too dark to get a good look into. Then Roxas decided to take off his hoodie that he was wearing, pulling it above his head and making it catch on his shirt. His abdomen was exposed for a brief moment before his shirt fell back down, and Axel tensed again, blinking a few times. He…hadn't needed to see that. Fate was such a damn tease.

After that, the blond headed over to the kitchen. Like an anxious puppy, Axel followed right behind him.

"Soooo…what are we up to tonight?" he questioned once he was alongside him, leaning forward and trying to catch the blond's eye.

Grabbing a box off the counter, Roxas turned to him and grinned. "Call me lame but…video games?"

"How incredibly lame," Axel said with a tone of disgust. "I'm leaving."

Roxas shook his head and rolled his eyes at him. "Shut up."

Unable to hold it back any longer, Axel broke into a grin as well, hoping that things were gradually becoming less awkward. "Of course I'm up for that. If you're ready to get your ass kicked again after all this time, that is."

"If that's how you remember things, you're in for a rude awakening," Roxas laughed, opening the box in his hands to offer the redhead a stick of pocky.

The urge to pull the boy into a hug was extremely tempting. Here Roxas was, acting as if nothing had changed between them. Frequently in the past, their Saturday nights would be filled with teaming up or beating each other up (in a pixilated world, of course), and getting sick off of food loaded with sugar. Axel snatched a piece of pocky and stuck it in his mouth as if he would with a cigarette. "Well, I guess we'll see about that, huh partner?" he asked before biting down.

Roxas smiled cutely and began sucking on his own pocky, leading the redhead over to the couch. They plopped down, Axel leaning against the armrest as comfortably as possible and Roxas tucking a leg under himself after depositing their sweets in between them. The redhead couldn't help but glare at a picture of Reno and some dude that was hanging on the wall. He opened his mouth to ask _'Who's Baldie?' _but caught himself before it was too late.

_Don't mention Reno yet. Don't even bring him up at all. Things are going well so far, there's no need to ruin things yet. _

"Uh, how's school going?" Axel asked as he finished up his treat. He honestly did wonder what Roxas was up to after all this time…other than the obvious, of course.

Roxas gave him an exasperated sigh as an answer.

"Still that bad?"

"Yeah, pretty much," the blond elaborated. "I got fucking Vexen as a teacher this semester for some kind of required chemistry bullshit."

"Oh man, are you kidding me?" Axel asked incredulously. "I warned you about him!"

"Yeah but, you rarely liked any professor, so I didn't think it'd be that bad," Roxas pointed out. "His laugh is creepy, you were right."

"Sucks to be you," the redhead sympathized, deep down a little hurt that he was only finding out about all this now. "He'll probably hate you by association with me."

"Yeah, I should have listened to you," Roxas admitted, grabbing another piece of candy.

"Well, you've got to appreciate school while you can," Axel said truthfully. When Roxas looked at him like he was crazy, he chuckled again. "No seriously, you'll miss it, and…the real world kind of sucks."

The blond didn't seem convinced. "Oh great, I guess now I'll be more eager for grad school."

Axel shrugged. "Well yeah, I mean, you can still see your friends all the time and you don't have to worry about a career yet–"

"I don't see you all the time," Roxas interjected and narrowed his eyes.

Axel's mouth froze, words catching and forgotten in an instant. He looked away and smoothed down his shirt, realizing his mistake. "That's because I'm not at school anymore, Roxas…"

"Right. Yeah, okay." The blond got up and headed over to the TV to turn the playstation 2 on, symbolizing the end of their conversation. Axel heaved a sigh; perfect timing to have brought up a sensitive subject.

"Roxas, I'm sorry," he said to the boy's back after a moment of hesitation, knowing full well he was pissed about their falling out. "I really am. But I'm here now, doesn't that count?"

"What took you so long?" the blond demanded dryly, refusing to look at him as he shuffled through video games.

Mouth dropping open again, Axel readjusted his sitting position on the couch, straightening his back. Okay, he _knew_ that he was not the only one to blame here. "I…got busy. And I mean, you didn't even tell me that you were dating someone, let alone moved in with someone!" he exclaimed with an edge of disbelief in his voice. In all the time that he'd known Roxas, the kid never dated. He just _didn't_. He avoided being close to anyone other than just a small group of friends. The closest he had gotten was Axel. And now what, he gave his trust and most likely his virginity to some asshole. Roxas didn't really have the _right_ to be mad, he was being an idiot. This caused Axel's anger to surface, he couldn't help it. Bitterly, the redhead threw his hands up and added, "You've probably been too busy for me anyway! I doubt you even _noticed_ I wasn't around."

Roxas turned to stare at him, as if trying to read something on the redhead's face. Even Axel was a little surprised at himself for his small outburst, thinking that perhaps he had taken that too far. The blond frowned and said clearly, "I _did_ notice."

"Did you?" Axel asked mockingly, remaining persistent. "_Why_ didn't you tell me anything? How long exactly were you going to wait to tell me? The phone works both ways, you know."

Seeming torn, Roxas averted his gaze. It gave the impression that he wasn't expecting Axel to react like that, wasn't expecting their buried issue to be brought up so quickly.

His face flushed slightly, bangs hiding his eyes. "I… I didn't really think you'd care about that…aspect of my life. That's all."

"You didn't think I'd care?" Axel repeated in disbelief, refusing to accept that bullshit. "Hell Roxas, I care about everything that goes on with you! I always have!"

The boy's expression softened and he didn't say anything. Was he really so dense that he didn't realize that?

Taking a deep breath, Axel continued. "Just in case you were wondering, I missed you like _crazy_, alright?"

Roxas seemed confused by this and shrugged. "Yet I didn't see you until you got some random job."

The redhead hesitated, then gave a half-hearted grin and a shrug of one shoulder. "Fate is twisted like that. Obviously we were meant to get together again."

"Yeah well, fate should have just made one of us call the other months ago," Roxas said dejectedly and turned away. Axel felt his anger fizzle out for the moment, heart strings tugging simply at his friend's voice. "Then we could have avoided this whole thing altogether..."

Not expecting that, Axel was unable to find anymore words. What exactly had Roxas meant by that? Axel realized that he hadn't come here to argue, or make Roxas feel bad. He had come because he didn't want to lose Roxas' friendship, and because the boy had asked him to. Mentioning that they could be more than just friends was pretty pointless. And now was certainly not the moment to mention Reno's infidelity.

"Well…um… Did you pick out a game yet?" he asked awkwardly as a pathetic attempt to change the subject.

Roxas frowned; then actually looked a little disappointed at the question and bent down, picking a random one out of the pile. He examined it with little interest. "…Mortal Kombat?"

Axel somehow managed to stay cheery despite his friend's attitude. "Alright, let's see if your Reptile can finally beat my Scorpion."

For a few seconds, the room was dead quiet. Then suddenly, Roxas burst out laughing. "Do you realize how wrong that sounded?"

Axel took a second and thought back, ending up joining Roxas in his laughter. The tense air between them seemed to clear for a moment and the redhead found it a bit ironic that Roxas was the one showing his perverted sense of humor instead of him. Either way, it was a relief. That was, until they realized what the joke was referring to and both fell into an awkward silence.

Roxas inserted the game into the system and headed back over to the couch, taking a seat about a foot away from Axel. Their fingers just missed each other when Roxas handed him the controller. As the game started up and they had to wait past the loading screens, Axel noticed Roxas was fidgeting. He couldn't seem to find a comfortable position on the couch it seemed, and he also was having a pretty hard time looking Axel in the eye. It wasn't a good sign. The two didn't talk much for the whole time that they played, just reached in between themselves for sweets to munch on. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to play such a _competitive_ game, because button mashing soon ensued, each taking their frustration out on the other.

"Come on, come on, _come on_!" Axel urged his character, sticking his tongue out slightly to the side of his mouth as once again he and Roxas were neck and neck. The blond pulled some kind of weird combo on him and knocked him out, then punched out a string of combos and Axel watched in horror as his character was beaten to a pulp and the deep, ominous voice said "FATALITY."

Honestly, he was getting quite irritated with how things were going. Roxas wasn't just playing around. Axel had only won a few matches by luck, otherwise he was getting owned. Roxas, however, seemed like he was totally enjoying himself. He must have been getting lots of practice in these past few months and a little part of Axel felt proud about the idea of Roxas kicking Reno's ass on a regular basis. That proud part pretty much died though when Roxas' character kicked Axel's into a death trap, where he was smushed to bloody bits. Axel couldn't help but think that the kid might as well have been doing that to his heart. The redhead made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat.

"Could you take it down a notch?" he asked, turning to Roxas and wearing a babyish pout. "Jeez, you're treating this like it's some kind of contest. It's just a game, Rox. No need to be so intense."

Roxas only cocked an eyebrow at him. "Since when do you ever want me to go easy on you?"

Axel saw the opportunity to make a perverted joke, but they had already learned from that mistake.

"Ah, never mind," he said with a wave of his hand.

They moved on to a few more games, racing, more fighting games. Things only continued and the candy quickly ran out. If they were keeping track of their wins and losses, the redhead might as well have had _negative_ points. Axel fell steadily and steadily more into a bad mood, slumping his shoulders and whining inwardly.

He felt that Roxas was obviously taking his unfair annoyance with him out on him through the game. The redhead glanced around the apartment as he unenthusiastically pressed some buttons. He was reminded all too well that Roxas was dating Reno and probably living all happily-ever-after here with him. It made his blood boil, quick frankly. He hated this apartment.

When Axel glanced at the guy's picture again he did a double-take. Red hair, tattoos on his face…lanky build. Realization dawned and Axel grew even more pissed off, gripping the controller tightly. They even _looked_ alike. Axel wondered how that could possibly even be coincidental. This was all too weird, too upsetting for him to handle. He carried on with his brooding and when his character was abruptly K.O.'d for what felt like the hundredth millionth time, the man snapped.

"What the fuck Roxas, do you secretly want to kill me or something?" he cried, throwing his controller down like a toddler having a temper tantrum.

Alarmed, Roxas spun and gave him the strangest look, all amusement on his face fading away. "Huh? No, I'm just playing the game!"

Axle took a deep breath, crossing his arms and pointing out, "Well, you didn't have to keep using your best character on me all the time. Come on, get some versatility and take some chances!"

"What?" Roxas would have looked adorably confused at the moment if Axel wasn't so pissed. "It's not my fault you suck."

"You could have, like, let me win just a _few_ times."

"But where's the fun in that then?"

"You purposefully distracted me that one time by knocking the box of twinkies over!"

"Oh come on, I did _not_!"

"You took advantage of the fact that I haven't played these games in _months_!"

"Axel, you're being stupid."

"Well, _you_ didn't have to make me wear _woman's_ clothes last week!"

Axel opened his mouth to respond but he paused, rewound what Roxas had said and played it back. He stared at Roxas and the boy swallowed visibly, appearing to have just realized exactly what he had said as well. Feeling a spark of triumph, Axel's lips curved into a gradual grin. "Wait a sec–"

Roxas cut him off, eyes as big as saucers. "Don't."

"I _knew_ this was about me!"

"_What_?" Roxas was absolutely flustered, eyes darting back and forth and searching Axel's face. "No, I was just saying–"

"Are you trying to get back at me for that? Come on, we made a deal," Axel chuckled. "Not cool, Rox."

"That's – that's ridiculous," the blond insisted. "Why are you being like this?"

Axel pursed his lips, took a second to think things through. It didn't work out so well because he ended up blurting out, "Why are you acting like a fourteen year old _girl_?"

"What?"

Suddenly, Axel became conscious of the fact that he honestly wasn't mad about the video games at all. It was this whole situation, and he couldn't accept where their argument had ended before. He wouldn't be able to function until he got some clarity, who knew if he could even function without Roxas in his life any longer. He reached for the remote and turned the TV off, Roxas watching his every move, mouth agape.

Chewing on his lower lip momentarily, Axel looked up and met his friend's eyes. He broke the silence, sounding almost broken himself. "Why did you rush into this so quickly, Rox? I thought you were smarter than that."

A pregnant pause. "Oh." Surprisingly, Roxas laughed. "Oh, you actually want to talk about this?"

"Yeah." The redhead's expression fell serious. "Yeah, I _actually_ do. Obviously you're mad at me, or something, and I want to know what the hell is going on with you. We kind of have to fix this _now_."

The two glared at each other for a while before Roxas sighed. "Fine. But I told you already, these apartments are close to HBU. It just kind of worked out this way."

"So you moved in with a guy just for _convenience_ purposes?" Axel asked critically, folding his arms across his chest again.

"_No_," Roxas groaned. "Did you ever think that I might actually _like_ him?" This stung a bit and Axel figured that his knees were easier to stare at than Roxas' face and he did so. "Sure…fine, it was fast but it made _sense_. And it's been working out until…you." The boy's tone was suspiciously calm compared to his comments from before, this time his words seeming carefully thought out. "I didn't invite you here to judge me, Axel."

Despite Roxas' honorable attempts at making things perfectly clear for him, the redhead was still not buying it. "Things aren't working out because of me?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow, jumping on the chance to get any sort of confession from Roxas.

The blond slumped against the armrest of the couch, blowing out a breath in slight disbelief. He studied the man across from him, trying to read him. "What do you want me to say, Axel? We're both to blame for losing touch but you can't get mad at me for what I've been doing!"

"And what makes you think I'm mad at you?" Axel asked.

"Oh, I don't know." Suddenly Roxas was angry, sarcasm dripping. "Your immature outburst from before kind of clued me in. I'm getting the feeling that for some reason you just can't stand that I'm with Reno."

Bingo. Roxas hit the nail right on the head. He'd clearly made it too obvious. Axel felt his stomach plummet along with his confidence. Oh there certainly was a reason, quite a few in fact. But Axel wasn't sure if he could tell Roxas, or if the boy even wanted to hear it.

"Okay well…" Axel said carefully. "Maybe I'm a little upset about that."

"Obviously."

"But you didn't even tell me!" he exclaimed, gesturing to himself. "It was just such a shock!"

"A lot of people don't know yet," the blond defended. "You think it's easy to tell people about being with another guy?"

Axel receded a bit, eyes darting to the side in thought. "No. Of course not. But it's not easy to hear that your best friend moved in with the first guy he finds who can _fuck_ him well, either."

Roxas flinched at the accusation, the harshness of Axel's words. "…How would you know _anything_ about that at all?" he asked quietly, sounding offended. "You don't know anything about the two of us."

On the contrary, Axel knew almost everything about Roxas, except for how he was in bed, and Axel was pretty sure he already _knew_ how Reno was. The man simply _touching_ him was pretty much sex itself. Axel didn't want to think about him touching Roxas. But once again, he didn't want to bring up Reno's explorations of his own body either.

"I…don't know," Axel admitted tonelessly. "But I've met him. He seems like the type of guy who's never opened up a book other than the Karma Sutra. I never exactly took that as your type."

"His name is Reno, you know," the blond said, thankfully not questioning why Axel assumed such a thing. "He's not just 'some guy', or whatever. You can call him by his name, or is that a problem for you?" The younger man raised his eyebrows, almost challengingly.

"Oh yes, Reno!" Axel cried like he was having some kind of revelation, jumping up off of the couch and throwing his hands into the air. "A tall, older man with red hair and tattoos under his eyes!" He jabbed a reproachful finger at the picture on the wall. "That doesn't sound familiar at all, what a unique choice! What'd you have to do, put out an ad in the paper to find him?"

"What are you talking about?" Roxas demanded, seeming slightly horrified.

"Tell me, did you think he'd be just like me?" Axel asked harshly. "Were you disappointed?"

"Huh?" Roxas looked lost for what to say for a second as he glanced between Axel and the picture. "You think the fact that you two look similar has anything to do with this….?" He shrugged, throwing Axel off. "You're completely different people. Maybe that's _why_ I like him."

Axel swallowed hard, trying desperately not to let his hurt show. Roxas was…toying with his feelings. But two could play that game. "You can't possibly mean that, Roxas," he said calmly. "You're trying to tell me that after all those times we've had together, when I was the only one you'd share secrets with, you told me I was your best friend, and after what happened at my graduation party, that you don't even like me at all?"

"I…" Blue irises darted back and forth, trying to think of some other comeback to protect himself. "No, I…"

"I think you might have been trying to replace me, hm?"

"Oh my god…" Roxas rubbed his face tiredly. "Just…shut up, Axel."

The redhead only raised his eyebrows. "I'm wondering, do you get sick of him tacking on 'yo' to everything he says? Or…" He glanced around the apartment. "Leaving bottles everywhere… I know that's a pet peeve of yours."

"I said _shut up_."

"I'm also curious, does he ever let you top?" Axel pressed on, ignoring him. He was beginning to lose it, no longer really conscious of what he was saying and how it might be affecting Roxas' feelings. "I mean, looking at you, I can't imagine you and him…" Shamelessly, he let his eyes travel down the boy's body and then back up again. "Well…"

"I'm serious Axel," Roxas pleaded, standing up now, his arms held tight at his sides. "_Stop_."

"Just one more thing," Axel promised, still keeping the cool-and-confident act up to par. Roxas actually looked really upset now, his hands were trembling. It was a bit unnerving, but Axel was too far in now. "Is missing him when he's gone anything like how much you've missed me?"

Without warning and before Axel could even blink, Roxas' hands were on him, dragging him down and pressing their lips together in a kiss. He made a small sound of surprise that was quickly muffled, completely taken off guard. It was sweet and even somewhat shy, not invasive or forceful, so much different than the last kiss that Axel had received. After the initial shock he found himself responding back. Roxas was the one to slowly end it after a few seconds, cutting it off while it still remained innocent. Neither of the two said anything, only shared a few breaths, their lips still so close.

That was certainly confession enough from Roxas.

All the redhead could do was breath the boy's name afterward, as a question, not trusting himself to say anything more. He was dizzy, unable to think of anything coherent except for how much he simply wanted to kiss the blond again.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked him quietly. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"W-well, I…" Axel stammered, not having a clue how to move on from their heated argument to this. "I wasn't exactly planning on working things out like _that_…"

"It got you to shut up, didn't it?" Roxas laughed nervously, his grip loosening on Axel's collar a bit in uncertainty.

Axel let out an amused sound, knocking his forehead against Roxas' and closing his eyes. "I guess so," he said, one hand coming up to gently rest on the younger male's cheek as he breathed in deeply. Roxas smelled exactly the same as he always had, and he had tasted so incredibly sweet, it couldn't have been just the sugar. Being this close to him, feeling that tension from Roxas as he anticipated what Axel would do next, it was taking everything out of the redhead to control himself. "You just…really shouldn't have done that, Roxas."

The blond hesitated, then leaned in close again. "But it's what we should have done. I'm doing what we should have done a long time ago." He slipped his arms around the stunned redhead's neck, attempting another kiss. The older male's breath hitched and he gave in, lost in the sensation of their lips moving together. Before long the back of Axel's knees bumped the edge of the couch and the younger male was tugging at his shirt, insistent on taking things farther.

"Wah!"

The kiss was broken as Axel lost his balance and fell backwards onto the couch, the landing knocking the breath out of him, all his limbs bent at an awkward angle. He barely even had the time to blush before Roxas hopped onto his lap, expression unreadable.

Axel gulped; his head was beginning to clear a bit and finally he remembered that they had been fighting – and what they had been fighting about. He blinked owlishly; it then dawned on him that Roxas had just willingly _kissed_ him, eagerly and…_sober_. A shaky smile spread across the man's face.

"Roxas…" he said, completely dumbfounded and almost giddy. "You're on top of me."

"Yeah?" Blue eyes shimmered as they took in his expression, patiently waiting for some sort of response.

"We _have_ done this before," Axel pointed out.

"Not really that long ago…" Roxas countered softly. "And you chickened out, anyway."

"Hey, you did too, y'know." Blowing out a breath, Axel tried his best to think logically about the situation and what would be the best thing to do…with the love of his life sitting in his lap. "Shit, do you even realize what you're doing, Rox?"

"Yes, Axel," the blond said confidently. "It seems you're the one who doesn't know what he wants."

"I – what?" Axel demanded, flabbergasted. "What the hell, Rox! S-so what'd you go and kiss me for?"

Roxas shifted his gaze, seeming a bit ashamed. "Because…I told you why. Isn't that what you came here for tonight?"

Now Axel was just getting more and more confused, wondering if Roxas had truly meant it and had feelings behind the kiss, or was merely using him. Either way, Roxas' assumptions were a bit insulting. "I came here for you," he answered defensively, "because you're my friend and I missed you. You're not single, I-I wasn't expecting anything. What were _you_ expecting?"

With a sigh, Roxas leaned in a little closer, his arms bent at a slightly awkward angle. Axel could see the curve of his neck, the way the collar of his over-sized shirt dipped too low and was therefore a bit too revealing of the skin that the redhead so desperately wanted to touch and taste. He forced himself to switch his focus to the ceiling, a much less alluring sight. This was a problem, a big problem. Here was Roxas, seemingly open to his affections, seemingly open to _more_ kisses… Axel had enough trouble just resisting Reno, so how could he possibly say no to Roxas when this was what he truly wanted?

"I was expecting something like this to happen," Roxas said honestly, quietly.

In all his worrying about the mess of a love triangle that he had gotten himself into, Axel failed to realize just how close Roxas had become. Another kiss was definitely possible and the redhead wasn't sure what the best plan of action was.

"Are you upset that I did that?"

Okay, Axel really wished that Roxas would stop talking in such a careful whisper, prompting him with questions to which the redhead only wanted to respond to with physical touch. Upset? Try a million mixtures of emotions – like a load of confusion, a hint of arousal, and a pinch of conflicting conscience.

Axel cleared his throat, trying to give a reassuring smile. "Depends on your definition of upset. S'not like I didn't enjoy it."

"Then…what's wrong?" Roxas asked. "What do you want? What…do you think we should do?"

Really, Axel had had enough of this question and answer session. One thing was for sure now: he wasn't about to lose Roxas again, he wasn't about to walk out. The point had been made that Roxas did not want him to make the same mistake again. Despite the circumstances, if Roxas wanted him, Axel wanted to give him just that. Roxas had waited long enough for him and found someone who clearly hadn't hesitated to make a move. If he wanted Roxas to be with him, he had to show that same initiative.

Making sure to keep a tight hold on Roxas, the redhead sat up abruptly, catching the boy off-guard with the sudden action. "Actually, right now I'm kinda thinking that we should get out of here and pick up where we left off."

Roxas seemed intrigued by this, eyes growing wide, though he drew back apprehensively at Axel's newfound optimism. "What do you mean?"

"I…don't want to run away anymore," the redhead confessed, squeezing Roxas in his arms ever so slightly as he leaned in again and kissed him, cupping his face.

After they parted, Roxas bit his lip, resting his forehead against Axel's own. "Why didn't you do anything when you had the chance?"

"Uh, well, you were right…" Axel admitted. "I _was_ scared. I still am, I guess."

"Scared of _what_?"

"Of…losing you." After he said it, Axel realized how stupid it must have sounded. He'd already almost lost Roxas because of all this, hadn't he? Quickly, before the blond could respond with some kind of contradiction, he added, "I was afraid of what you'd think about how I feel about you."

"You never thought I might feel the same way? Even after making out with you?" Roxas asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Axel scratched the back of his head self-consciously. "When you put it that way, I sound like an idiot, but…yeah."

Then, all of a sudden, Axel was enveloped in skinny little arms, mess of blond hair being pressed against his chest. Roxas was hugging him tightly, comfortably. Speechless, Axel smiled and rested his cheek against the top of Roxas' head. It felt so natural and amazing, like _this_ is what he'd been waiting for all this time. This was right, and how things should have always been. He had missed being with Roxas _so_ much.

"It's okay," Roxas murmured, exhaling softly and giving a small squeeze of his arms. Then, almost as if reading the man's thoughts, he said, "For the record, I've missed you more than anything."

"Really?" the redhead asked, his fingers gently caressing his friend's back.

"Yeah. Nothing else is more important to me right now."

Axel lifted his head and took in a deep breath as if he was about to take a plunge into freezing waters. Now would be the time to come out with it. Now or never. There was no more time left to be afraid.

"For the record," he mimicked, kissing the top of the blond's head. "I love you more than anything, Roxas…"

The blond drew back, allowing Axel to watch his smile grow into something so absolutely genuine and happy that it made the redhead's heart soar. "I know," Roxas said, kissing Axel again. Although just a soft press of their lips together, the meaning was clear. When Roxas pulled back to look at him, he remained close, still holding onto Axel as tightly as before. "You should know by now that I love you too."

* * *

Like how a person claims they saw their life flash before their eyes in a near-death experience, Axel saw his time with Roxas the night before. He re-heard those words that he had been dying to hear, remembered how much of a nervous wreck he was and yet how natural it felt to kiss Roxas. It felt liberating to admit those feelings he'd always had to hold back around his best friend, felt even better to leave that damned apartment and later in the night feel heated skin against skin, fingers lightly pressed around the curve's of the younger's body. It felt best to learn that Roxas had always felt the same way – and that he still did.

Perhaps it had been foolish and hasty, but Axel didn't care. It was what led him to set his alarm the next day, on a Sunday morning, when he could have regularly slept in. And unfortunately, it was also what led him to end up in his current predicament.

Axel, being the hopeless romantic that he was, developed what he thought to be an ingenious plan. But that plan relied on returning to Roxas and getting the boy alone. Axel, regrettably, hadn't exactly developed a plan B.

Now he was being dragged in the doorway behind Reno, who announced, "Hey Roxas, I'm back with a little surprise!"

"Oh, why are you…" Axel heard his blond best friend begin say, then trail off. He followed the sound of his voice over to the table to watch Roxas drop his spoon into his cereal with a loud clatter.

"Look, I found the mailman wandering around out in the hallways," Reno said cheerfully, gesturing exaggeratedly like Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune at the postman he had in his grip. "He has something for you."

"Reno, what…?" Roxas got up from the table slowly and cautiously, glancing between the two redheads. Axel could tell that he was searching for some kind of sign, carefully trying to show no panic. "Um, d-does he?"

Before Axel could react, the other redhead reached over and snatched the box away from him. The man released him and advanced towards Roxas, spinning the package in his hands. Axel could do nothing but gawk and wish that he could melt into the ground right then and there because his life was _over_.

Reno handed the box to Roxas, who merely stared down at it in his hands. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and open it."

"That's okay, whatever," the blond said hastily, placing the box down on the table and shooting a quick, anxious glance at Axel. "Rude's waiting, you should get going."

"What, did you order something you don't want me to know about?" the redhead asked with a chuckle. "Now you've got me curious." As Axel stood there watching helplessly, the other redhead examined the package. "Hey…there's no postage on this thing."

Two pairs of blue eyes fell on Axel. "Why is there no postage?"

"U-um, that is, uh…" the redhead began, trying to think of some kind of lie, but it was pointless because Reno picked up the box again and started ripping the tape off. Axel stepped forward instinctively, reaching a hand out as if he could stop the whole thing but it was too late. His plan was _really_ backfiring now.

When Reno unveiled the contents of the box, he examined it for a few tight seconds that everyone in the room could feel, the air hanging tense and far too quiet. He then turned to Roxas slowly, eyes still on what was in his hands and asked tonelessly, "What is this, Roxas?"

The blond looked up at him nervously, then shuffled closer to have a look for himself. "Um…that's us…two years ago at the HBU Battle of the Classes…"

"And why is he giving you this?"

"I, um, don't know…"

"I see," Reno murmured. It was the photograph that they were looking at, the one on Axel's desk that had kept him company without Roxas for all of those months. The redhead had planted it in a box, hoping to surprise his friend when he opened it, reminding him of their history together, reminding him that they could continue those good times together. But this was all very strange, Reno's serious reaction, and Roxas… Roxas just admitted to what the picture was without any explanation to why it existed in the first place. Reno was supposed to believe that they were merely acquaintances, nothing more.

"That's _reall_y sweet of you," Reno said suddenly, lifting his head and handing the picture frame over to blond. "Coming here, trying to win Roxas back after all that time…" He swayed slightly as he walked towards Axel, an unreadable, secretive expression on his face. "Really, I'm surprised though, since your loyalty to him doesn't seem all that faithful, yo."

Axel wanted to correct him and say that _he_ was the one who was unfaithful, but Roxas was the first to speak.

"What do you mean?" he asked, voice sounding small.

"I mean…" Reno closed the distance between himself and Axel again, something he was _so_ fond of doing, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and tugging their bodies together. As usual, Axel reacted by letting out a flustered gasp, muscles stiffening up. Reno smirked and wrapped an arm around his captive's waist. "I mean that he melts if I so much as look at him, as you can see."

"Th-that's not true!" Axel swore, leaning back as far as he could to avoid the way Reno was teasing him by moving his mouth up to his ear, down to his neck, though at no point actually touching him except for with his hands. "_You're_ the one who can't take no for an answer!"

"What the hell is going on?" Roxas demanded.

"Just the other day actually, right before you showed up on the stairwell?" Reno said in example, still keeping a tight grip on the redheaded postman. "He was kissing me like it might be the last thing he ever did."

"Y-you're the one who kissed _me_!"

"Doesn't really matter does it?" Reno laughed, giving him the most patronizing look that Axel had ever received. "At least I'm the one being honest, yo."

"If it's honesty you want," Axel growled, attempting to push him off, only to have his wrist caught and restrained. "Then maybe you should know that I have that lingerie you've been wondering about."

Reno's eyebrows lifted. "Oh, did you want to wear it yourself?"

"I – _No_ – Roxas just didn't want to be part of your pervy–"

"Didn't really figure you and Roxas for the same size, yo."

Axel couldn't believe this man, there was absolutely no winning with him. Reno wasn't fazed in the slightest at the revelation of the mystery of the missing lingerie – only seemed highly entertained. He was the most frustrating person Axel had ever met, absolutely full of himself. Not being able to bear being touched by him any longer, Axel gained enough strength to wrestle away from him, making sure to keep his distance. Emotions and nerves gone haywire, so determined to best Reno in the heat of the moment he blurted out, "Fine, you know what? I was here just last night – and I fucked your boyfriend!"

There was a short pause. "Shit." Roxas covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

"Really?" Reno asked, finally not appearing so amused by the whole situation. "Here? Last night?"

There was silence and it was clear that Roxas was not about to speak up, so Axel had to be the one to clarify. "We were here, but…things moved to my apartment." He swallowed a lump in his throat, remembering what all those emotions, anger and release led up to and how Roxas had encouraged things to go further. It was surreal and sensual, enticing in the fact that they shouldn't have been doing it. Though he'd had to bring Roxas home that night, the blond had left so much behind, his smell, the wrinkled sheets, the half-full mug of water on the bedside table – it made falling asleep that much more difficult of a task when his mind full, his senses and body still amplified with Roxas, Roxas, Roxas.

Reno snorted, but not in an amused way, more just an expression of distaste. "Well, Roxas…looks like you beat me to it then," he said, a half-assed attempt at a joke to cut through the heavy air between all of them.

"I'm not sure who should be apologizing," Roxas finally said, appearing frozen where he stood. The look he was giving Axel was one that suggested he couldn't believe what the man had done. It was accusing, and it was incredibly painful for Axel to bear. "Were you planning on telling me this about Reno?"

"O-of course, Roxas," Axel asserted, refusing to react to the hands that still had control over his body. He couldn't imagine how terrible that must have been for the boy to realize that he had trusted Axel so entirely the night before, only to find out he had left out something very important about their whole situation. "I'm so sorry, last night – I was just so happy to be with you…"

"How long has this been going on for?"

"For…as long as I've been a mail carrier."

"_Right_ from the start?"

"Um, yeah, Rox…"

"And here you got all upset at me last night? When this whole time you've been flirting with and kissing _Reno_?"

"No! It's not like that! _He_ was the one who–"

"Oh god, just shut up already. You can _have_ him."

The two arguing men snapped their mouths shut, turning their attention to Reno.

"_What_?" they questioned in unison.

The redhead stepped away from Axel, running a hand through the hair on top of his head. "I said, you can have him. Go ahead, be with each other."

"Right, like you mean that," Axel said sardonically, holding back a growl in his chest as he tried to figure out what Reno could possibly being playing at.

"I do mean it, actually," the other man said, no hint of mockery in his expression or voice. "I won't stop you."

Axel furrowed his brow, not ready to trust this man in the least. "Oh sure, all of a sudden you're giving the okay for someone you've been living with for months to be with someone you've…you've..."

"Been molesting every chance I get?" Reno provided kindly. "Yup."

"I – what?" Roxas asked, totally thrown off. "But, Reno, why…?"

"Maybe I should do some explaining?" he offered. The two other men simply gaped at him. "A'right, I'll take that as a 'yes.' So…" He paused, either for effect or because he wasn't sure where to begin. "I'll admit, I came onto you at first, Axel, because, well, you're hot." Reno shrugged, and the green-eyed redhead raised his eyebrows, feeling himself blush. "Plus, you were looking at my porn – issue number 8, you remember that one, don't you, Roxas?"

Glancing across the room, Axel saw Roxas nod uncomfortably, cheeks turning pink as well.

"Then I learned your name," the man continued. "I realized who you were, I remembered Roxas telling me that you were his best friend and the one who made him realize that he's gay. So I guess you could say, I tried to scare you off before you discovered Roxas was here with me. But it's obvious that that didn't work."

Axel couldn't believe what he was hearing and apparently, Roxas couldn't believe it either.

"Really? You did all that because of…me?" Judging by his voice, Roxas was somewhat appalled and yet – flattered.

"Yeah. What can I say, you're a cute kid. I kinda wanted to keep you for myself," Reno admitted. "I knew you had feelings for him."

Axel and Roxas exchanged glances. "You seem to be taking this…rather well."

Now Reno broke into his classic grin, revealing that he did indeed have other intentions to telling his whole story and putting on his act of sainthood. "That's because I'm not one to keep people meant to be together from each other. No one would be happy if things remained the same after this, right? Besides, the only real chemistry me and Roxas had was in bed."

The two other men tensed at this, Axel feeling slightly sick at the thought and narrowing his eyes. "I bet that's the _only_ kind of chemistry you could have with someone."

"Yes, speaking of that," Reno said, suddenly grabbing Axel again and forcing him up against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. "We all want to leave happy from this, don't we? I bet you can't guess what I might need in order to feel that way."

Axel was overwhelmed, not even registering what Reno could possibly want because his adrenaline kicked in, body set because of the instinct that he was about to get _hurt_. Luckily, Roxas seemed to still have his head on straight.

"You can't be serious," he said.

"Oh, I'm totally serious," Reno disagreed, the corners of his lips pulling up even wider. "I'm _always_ serious, yo."

"Huh?" Axel blinked, starting to understand the implication of it all – especially when the buttons of his shirt slowly began to be undone.

"I really think we could all use a little release. Come on, Roxas, why don't you join us?" Reno prompted, holding out a hand to beckon his now, Axel was assuming, ex-boyfriend. The blond approached somewhat shyly, a hesitant smile on his face.

"I – but – this is… _This_ is how you want to resolve things?" Axel tried to argue as Reno traced the muscles of his abdomen with his fingers. He was torn between wanting it and not wanting it – certainly not what he had expected from today at _all_. Nor was it how he expected to win Roxas. But really, knowing Reno…perhaps he should have seen this twisted idea of resolve coming.

"You had each other last night and if Roxas gets to have you from now on…this is the only way to end things fairly, don't you agree?"

At that point, Axel really didn't have much of a choice and Reno _really_ didn't give him much of a chance to answer. Somehow, crazily enough though, it _felt_ like a good compromise, and it didn't exactly matter who's hand was down his pants or who's tongue was in his mouth at the time.

As Axel left apartment thirteen that morning, he left behind his tension and ended up with a lot more than he expected to walk away with. A limp in his step, several hickeys, and almost pure certainty that he had come in his hair – but most importantly, Roxas' hand in his own.


End file.
